Bruises- Modern Zelink- discontinued :(

Bother

*Monday*

Link sat down in his seat and immediately shut his eyes. Goddesses, he was tired. And cold. And his head hurt.

It felt so good when he entered the school. It was the first time he felt warm since Saturday.

Zelda walked into class, but he didn't see. He didn't even know until Sean came in and greeted her. She said nothing to him. She didn't sit behind him like usual. Instead, she sat two rows in front of him and to the far left by the window.

"Hey Link. Hey Zelda."

Link opened his eyes to see Sean sitting next to him. He spotted Zelda in a different seat than usual, but he said nothing. He didn't really want to.

"You look tired."
He looked over at Sean. "Yeah. I am."
"Did you not sleep?"
Link shrugged. "Not well."
"Why?"
He shrugged again. "I dunno. I've just been having trouble sleeping. I'm in a bit of a weird situation." He said the last bit louder than the rest, hoping Zelda would hear. She didn't react at all.

He sighed and made a mental note to talk to her later.

<<×>>
*lunch*

Link walked up to Zelda's table and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up at him, then quickly looked away.
"Please leave."
"What? I just want to talk to you."
"Leave me alone, dickhead."
"I... what? Did I do something wrong?"
"Go away."
"I don't understand."

Zelda groaned and stood up. She turned around to face him, then shoved him. He fell to the ground.
"Don't bother me again, asshole."

He scrambled to his feet and was immediately surrounded by his friends.

"You good?" "What happened?" "Are you okay?"

He ignored everyone and simply pushed through the crowd. He grabbed his things and ran to the library, where he dropped the bags and collapsed onto a couch.

He didn't understand what was happening. This had to be a nightmare, right?
If it wasn't, that meant Zelda hated him again. And he had nobody to talk to.

Someone sat down next to him.
"Hey. You alright?"
He shook his head, staring up at the ceiling.
"Yeah. I figured."

Link looked over. Sean was sitting there, looking at his phone.

"So," Sean began after a while, still staring down at his phone. "What's up with you? I feel like there's something going on that you aren't telling me about."
"Oh." Link laughed and glanced in a different direction. "Nothing. It's nothing."
"Really?" Sean looked up. "I'm your best friend. You can tell me."
Link looked down. "Even if I did tell you, you wouldn't be able to do anything."
"That doesn't mean I can't support you."

Link debated in his mind whether or not to tell Sean. On one hand, he really needed someone to talk to. On the other hand, he really didn't want Sean to get hurt.

So, after a minute or so, he made up his mind.

Link stood up, still looking down. "It doesn't matter. I've just been having a bad... everything. That's all." And with that, he grabbed his things and walked away.

<<×>>

As Zelda watched Link run out if the cafeteria, she felt a painful pang of guilt. She shook it off, though and sat back down. This was for the better. He was fine on his own. After all, he had been for years. It wasn't like he depended on her.

"You good, Zel?"
She nodded.

What was she doing?

<<×>>

He slowly walked to his house, looking down. Once he got to the house, he stood in front of the door for a few minutes. Then, he went over to the garage and opened it up. He closed it behind him, dropped his backpack on the floor, and curled up with a bunch of old blankets.

He had made a little area for himself, tucked away in the corner so his father wouldn't find it. It was partially behind the mini fridge and a desk, so it was pretty well hidden.

He had collected a bunch of old blankets and towels, and had been stealing things from the washing machine.
He had been wearing the same clothes for three days, but he didn't care. The scent of wood shavings covered him.

He was starving and thirsty, so he crawled forward and opened the mini fridge. Just beer. Oh well.

He grabbed a can and popped the tab up.
Tsssssss!
He hesitated before lifting it to his lips and taking a small sip. Eugh. Why did his dad drink this shit so much?
Still, he drank it. It felt amazing to finally drink something. His head hurt a little bit less than before. Same for his throat. He still didn't feel great, but at least it was a little better.

He went back to his little hideout, bringing the half empty beer can with him. He wrapped a blanket around himself and drank the rest of the beverage, then went to sleep. There wasn't much else to do, anyway. And maybe his head would hurt less when he woke up.